Phase 2 Lawyers and Conveyancers Guidance launched

Last week DIA published the AML/CFT Phase 2 Lawyers and Conveyancers Guideline to help the sector better understand AML/CFT and how it affects them. As we mentioned in our last newsletter, Phase 2 reporting entities include lawyers, accountants, conveyancers, real estate agents, high value dealers and the New Zealand Racing Board.

The Lawyers and Conveyancers Guideline is the first of the industry-specific guidance material to be published with guidelines for accountants and Real Estate Agents to be published in 2018 ahead of the legislation going live for these two professions. The Lawyers and Conveyancers guideline can be accessed here.

Along with the Phase 2 guidance a number of generic guidance documents have also been updated and some new documents introduced, which we signalled in our last newsletter. The updates can be found on the DIA website AML/CFT page under the ‘Codes of Practice and Guidelines’ menu heading. The updates focus on what constitutes ‘in the ordinary course of business’ and the scope and formation of ‘designated business groups’. There is new guidance to assist reporting entities to conduct enhanced customer due diligence.

Also, DIA has produced a Phase 2 Sector Risk Assessment along with a companion document, “Prompts and notes” to help reporting entities to develop their risk assessments and compliance programmes. These two documents will be published before Christmas and can be found here. 

We will be taking on new staff in the New Year as we look to expand the AML/CFT Team to manage the growing number of reporting entities. While it’s been a busy year for all us, it’s pleasing to reflect on another year where compliance standards have advanced and overall AML/CFT capability has progressed.

Thank you for your cooperation throughout the year and we hope that you have a happy and safe break over the holidays.